On Saturday, the Pacers posted an offensive rating of 70.2 in their Game 3 loss to the Hawks.

Tonight, the Nets bested that offensive rating – on possessions they missed a shot.

Let me repeat that. Every time the Nets began a possession by missing a shot, their offense performed better than Indiana’s did overall in its last game.

Brooklyn’s offense was incredible tonight. The Nets made 50 percent of their shots, rebounded 40 percent of their misses and scored on nearly 60 percent of their second-chance opportunities.

The Nets scored 134 points, 111 of them in regulation, in Game 4. Their offense was better tonight.

Rather, their was at least more effective tonight.

No Kirk Hinrich? Sounds great to Deron Williams.

Less Joakim Noah? Brook Lopez will take that.

Brooklyn’s two biggest stars stepped up, but that was certainly in part due to the Bulls’ best defenders of those two stepping down. I doubt the Nets will care about those details, though.

In Game 4, they led by 14 points with three minutes left in regulation and lost. Tonight, they by seven points with three minutes left and surged further ahead with a game-ending 12-0 run for a season-saving 110-91 victory.

The Nets still trail Chicago, 3-2, in the series, and it will take even more mental toughness to complete the comeback – but, by Brooklyn’s standards in that department, tonight was an overwhelming success thanks to all those offensive rebounds (18 in total).

Like the Nets envisioned when they signed them to those big contracts, Williams and Lopez led them to the crucial win.

Of course, Williams couldn’t match his point-a-minute pace with Hinrich out over a larger sample, but Williams still found plenty of success in Hinrich’s absence. The Nets’ point guard had 23 points and 10 assists and captained an offense that scored 124.8 points per 100 possessions.

But Lopez actually reached the point-a-minute clip with Noah out, scoring seven in seven as, for the first time this series, Noah played fewer minutes than his previous game (28 tonight). Lopez finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three putbacks, including a nasty dunk on a missed C.J. Watson free throw.

Chicago’s offense, on the other hand, was fine despite struggling early, when the Bulls forced too many long 2s as they got used to playing without Hinrich. But they eventually settled in. Nate Robinson had 20 points and eight assists. Jimmy Butler scored 18 points. Carlos Boozer had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Marco Belinelli shot 4-for-5.

Given the Bulls’ injuries, Williams and Lopez excelling tonight made plenty of sense. There wasn’t a strong reason for Wallace to have such a good game other than, when the Nets play well, Wallace plays well. He’s turned into quite the frontrunner.

Late in the game, Wallace made a 3-pointer, stole a pass on Chicago’s next possession and drove for a dunk.

Paul George and Russell Westbrook — now with Carmelo Anthony — form one of the more interesting teams in the NBA in Oklahoma City. Deep with quality role players and a defense that should be top 10 (if not top 5) in the league, if the three big names can learn to sacrifice and mesh, the Thunder will be dangerous.

Paul George sounds motivated to take it all on… which he should be the first day of training camp. Still, it’s a good sign for Thunder fans.

“I took it as it was a kick in the behind, like, ‘Go ahead and go try to beat the Warriors. Go play alongside Russ and get your butt kicked against the Warriors.’ That’s how I looked at how that trade went down, because honestly we had no idea OKC was even interested or was in the trade until the trade actually happened. But again, I’m not here to trash Indiana. They have some of the best people I’ve ever met in their front office and in that organization. I grew up there. I could go on and on (with) the positives in Indiana, but that’s where my thought process and my – that’s where I, I guess, my opportunity to leave had opened up.”

There was some “go ahead and beat the Warriors” in that trade — it looks, from the outside, like the Pacers did not want George to land anywhere he wanted to go.

Thing is, as human beings, we by our nature try to make the best of situations. Even people who suffer genuine personal tragedies often come out the other side saying that it changed who they were for the better and they are happy with their new life. This is just basketball. George will adapt — and he’s on a very good team. If the bar is “can they beat a healthy Warriors team in a series” then the Thunder will fall short, as will every other team. But the Thunder are on that next tier in the NBA and could be a threat.

Plus, competitors like George always look at a trade as a challenge.

It’s going to be a fascinating season for the Thunder. We’ll see if all that talent is willing to make the sacrifices needed to win at the highest levels of the NBA.

When the Chicago Bulls traded Jimmy Butler — finally making a decision on the franchise’s direction — one of the centerpieces they got back from Minnesota was Zach LaVine. The wildly athletic two-guard had evolved into more than just a dunker, averaging 18.9 points per game and shooting 38 percent from three — he had become a legitimate scoring threat against any defense.

Then he blew out his ACL.

How that injury impacts his game remains to be seen… so when will the Bulls see him on the court? Coach Fred Hoiberg addressed that as Chicago started training camp, as reported by Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.

Although Zach LaVine's numbers are ahead of schedule, Bulls don't expect him to practice with contact until mid-November

That’s just taking contact in practice. The Bulls will be cautious bringing back a guy they see as part of their future, so expect this to be closer to Thanksgiving or the end of the month before he plays. Which is the smart move to make.

Even then, ACL injuries take a long time to overcome, even for young players putting in the recovery work. It may be next season before we know if LaVine will continue on the trajectory he was on in Minnesota.

“Only time I am going to concern myself with what [Lonzo] does off the court is if it is affecting his play on the court,” Johnson said at the Lakers’ media day when asked about Ball’s reality Facebook series, “Ball in the Family.”

“Right now, I think it is awesome,” Johnson said. “His family is great. They came out Saturday, we had a big Laker picnic. … His dad is wonderful with me, and I am cool with him. … I think [Lonzo] is tired of all this [hype]. He is just like me; I just want to play and I think he wants to play, and then Saturday night [for the Lakers’ preseason opener], sold out, in Anaheim, wow!”

It’s Magic’s job to put a positive spin on things.

That said, he’s right. The Lakers (and every NBA team) have dealt with overinvolved parents before and know how to create some space for the player to focus on the game. Locker rooms have a way of sorting themselves out in these kinds of situations. Plus, the Lakers have been down the reality show road before (when Lamar Odom married Khloe Kardashian), and while that had an ugly ending, it wasn’t for lack of Lakers’ players and others in the organization trying to step in and help. (Odom just wasn’t yet in a place to accept help.)

Soon LaVar will be focused on his other sons and Lonzo, who appears practiced at tuning his father out and focusing on what is in front of him, will have the grind of the NBA schedule to worry about.

The recruitment of major college athletes — and then the steering of the handful that get to go pro to shoe companies and agents — is a sleazy business. It makes HBO’s “The Duece” look like Disneyland. It’s something sports fans know but largely turn a blind eye to until it forces its way into the headlines.

Former NBA Rookie of the Year Chuck Person, now an assistant coach at Auburn, was among those named in the scandal.

Person is making headlines because he’s the biggest name in the scandal. He is charged with accepting approximately $91,500 from a business manager, who has flipped and is working with prosecutors. This “business manager, offered bribes to Person to steer players toward his services, as well as another person charged in the scandal.

Person told prosecutors he gave $18,500 of the money he took to two players’ families, according to the filings.

Person was the No. 4 pick in the 1986 NBA draft and went on to win Rookie of the Year, followed by a 13-year NBA career. He made $22.9 million over the course of his career.